Page 125 of The Gift
The surf roared, its rhythm hypnotic, while millions of stars twinkled in the clear, dark sky. She tilted her face to take it in, but felt his gaze on her.
“Vince.”
“Mm?”
“You’re not looking at the stars.”
“No,” he agreed. “What’s here on Earth is more beautiful.”
She turned to him, still not used to how easily he could make her melt.
His hand lifted, not touching her yet. She felt him anyway. The warmth that was uniquely his brushed over her senses before his fingers ever reached her skin.
Then he took her into his arms.
She went willingly, pressing closer, feeling his desire rise to match her own, as his lips found her temple, her cheek, then her lips.
Her gift had no filter for this, and she never wanted one.
The kiss deepened, unhurried at first—then not. Her pulse answered.
He lay back on the blanket, bringing her with him. Denim disappeared somewhere in the dark. She rose over him then sank down slowly in a breath-stealing joining that stilled her completely, palms flat on his chest as she absorbed it. She lingered there a moment, adjusting… feeling. Then she began to move.
The night air brushed her skin. The sand beneath them was damp, faintly cool, but it didn’t matter, not when his heat surrounded her, grounded her, and drew her deeper.
She moved with him, slow at first then surer, until the need inside her pulled taut, unraveling in a way she couldn’t have stopped if she wanted to.
His hands on her tightened, and their breathing roughened, falling out of sync with everything but each other. As theirpleasure crested, their cries mingled with the surf, until even that faded, leaving nothing but the two of them.
Afterward, sprawled across his chest, awareness returned, particularly the grit of sand in her hair and on her skin, and in places she never imagined sand would get. Making love on a public beach, where anyone could have stumbled across them, was another first.
She pushed up, hands on his chest. “What if someone saw us?”
“No one did,” he assured her, languid after what they’d just done.
“You don’t know that. We could be arrested,” she insisted. “There are laws, Vince. You could lose your job.”
“I know the laws,” he said with quiet amusement, brushing her wind-tossed hair out of her face. “You’re worth the risk.”
That got to her, and she went a little melty again—okay, a lot melty—but her gaze still tracked the road for passing cars, especially ones with blue lights.
“No one saw us, darlin’. And I’m not losing my job.”
She wrinkled her nose. He sounded so sure of himself, like he was the one with the gift. Still, she had to admit, as far as romantic moments went, this one was at the top and absolutely worth it.
He stood and pulled her up with him. As they straightened their clothes, she brushed at the sand clinging stubbornly to her skin.
“Next time,” she said, “we find a roof, a locked door, and sheets that don’t contain the entire Pacific coastline.”
He slipped an arm around her and pulled her close, mouth brushing hers. “I’ll agree to no sand, but there are still hundreds of miles of coastline ahead with cliffs, waterfalls, and mountains. How about you let me plannext time?”
He kissed her then, slow and deep, making her forget all about the sand. When he raised his head, she whispered, “Okay.”
His grin glinted white in the moonlight. It never took much for him to get his way. Most times, she ended up a winner too, like tonight. She saw no reason to argue about it.
At the start of their second week, they crossed into Washington State. The air cooled, and the coastline grew wilder. Not far past the border, he slowed and pulled into a roadside café perched above a rocky inlet where waves crashed and spray flew.
It was the perfect place to stop.
